Upholstered pew



Oct. 6, 1959 c, HOVEN ETAL UPHOLSTERED PEW 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 7, 1956 INVENTOR5 Alfred C. Hofien nizli ez E. ivordmaz'k ATTORNEY Oct. 6, 1959 c, HOVEN ETAL 2,907,377

UPHOLSTERED PEW Filed D60. 7, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Alfred C. Haven v ATTORNEY Oct. 6, 1959' A, c, HOVEN ET AL UPHOLSTERED PEW 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. '7, 1956 INVENTORS Alfred C. flbven Wall-er E. lvoz-dma 2'11 BY $441M ATTORNEY A. C. HOVEN ET AL Oct. 6, 1959 UPHOLSTERED PEW 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 7, 1956 VENTORS Alfred Csfioen J" ATTORNEY Earlier l5. Mardmarli L. llll if I. w IEIEIHH MIH U WW 1 W o 2 h 9 \k United States Patent UPHOLSTERED PEW Alfred C. Hoven and Walter E. Nordmark, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignors to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 7, 1956, Serial No. 626,879

2 Claims. (Cl. 155-184) The present invention relates to pews especially intended for use in churches, but suitable for use elsewhere as, for example in courtrooms and waiting rooms.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide an upholstered pew which atfords a greater degree of comfort for the occupants than is generally found in church pews; to provide such an upholstered pew in which the supporting frame thereof is fabricated of steel and is thus sturdy and durable; to provide such a pew having decorative pew ends which do not necessarily extend to the floor, thus to facilitate housekeeping as well as to provide a unique and pleasing appearance; to provide a pew of such construction and design that the upholstered parts thereof may readily be removed for reupholstering should they become worn, and in which the upholstered seat cushion is reversible from front to rear so that when the front edge becomes worn the cushion may be reversed to present a new or unworn front edge; and in general to provide such an upholstered pew which is sturdy in construction, attractive in appearance and reasonably ec0- nomical in manufacture.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a front and end perspective view of the new upholstered church pew;

Figure 2 is a rear and end perspective view of the same;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view thereof on line 33 of Figure 1, the planes of section being also indicated by the lines 33 of Figures 4 and 5;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view partly in plan and I partly in horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3, with portions broken away; 1

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view partly in rear elevation and partly in section taken on line 55 of Figure 3, with portions broken away;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view of the frame of one of the pew ends illustrating the manner in which the upholstered panel for the pew end is assembled to the frame; a

Figure 7 is a similar sectional view showing the assembled pew end, the plane of section being indicated by line 77 of Figure 2; and

Figure 8 is a vertical section through one member of a supporting standard of the pew, the section being indi cated by line 88 of Figure 4.

Referring now in detail to these drawings, wherein like parts are designated by the same numerals in the several views, the pew there shown generally comprises spaced upright supporting standards of h-form, here shown as three in number and designated 10, on which are mounted an elongated seat cushion 11 and back cushion 12. Each supporting standard 10 comprises a rearwardly-downwardly extending metal channel bar 13 of inverted hatsection (see Figure 8). The laterally extending upper flanges 14 of each bar 13 constitute seat supports, and the spaced vertical portions 15 of each bar 13 are provided with complementary concavities near the front and rear ends thereof which form front leg sockets 16 and 2,907,371 Patented Oct. 6, 1959 rear leg sockets 17. The standards 10 are provided with tubular metal front legs 18 having their upper ends se-' cured as by welding in the front leg sockets 16. Tubular metal rear supports 19 are similarly secured in the rear leg sockets 17 and have depending lower portions 20 which constitute the rear legs of the pew and upwardlyrearwardly extending upper portions 21 which constitute the pew back supports.

The seat cushion 11 comprises a rectangular metal seat frame having elongated front and rear rails 22, 23 respectively and relatively short end rails 24 (see Figures 3 and 4). The seat frame is of inwardly opening channel bar construction, and the lower flange thereof is provided with inwardly extending spurs 25 at intervals extending completely around the frame. The upper flanges of the front and rear rails 22, 23 of the seat frame are provided with opposed outwardly opening pairs of spring-retaining hooks 26. Sinuous seat springs 27 are secured to the hooks 26 so as to span the seat frame fromfront to rear. Upholstery material is disposed over the seat springs 27 and as here shown this material comprises a sheet of burlap 28 adjacent the springs and cotton padding 29 over the burlap. A seat upholstery cover 30 is disposed over the pading 29 and has its marginal edges drawn downwardly around the seat frame and attached to the spurs 25, said spurs 25 piercing the cover 30 and, if desired, the marginal edges of the burlap 28 also, as shown. The seat cushion 11 is removably mounted on the seat supports 14 as by means of self-tapping screws 31 passing through said supports 14 and the lower flanges of the seat frames front and rear rails 22, 23. Bent tubular metal struts 32 have their opposite ends flattened and secured as by welding to the front and rear rails 22, 23 thus to strengthen the seat cushion. -It will be seen that if the front edge of the seat cushion 11 becomes worn, the cushion can be reversed from front to rear so as to present a new or unworn front edge, the cushion being designed substantially symmetrical with respect to a central longitudinal plane therethrough.

The back cushion 12 comprises a rectangular metal back frame having elongated top and bottom rails 33, 34 respectively and relatively short side rails 35 (see Figures 3 and 5), Like the seat frame, this back frame is also of inwardly opening channel bar construction, and the rearward flange thereof is provided with inwardly extending spurs 36 at intervals extending completely around the frame. The forward flanges of the top and bottom rails 33, 34 of the back frame are provided with opposed outwardly opening pairs of spring-retaining hooks 37. Sinuous back springs 38 are secured to the hooks 37 so as to span the back frame from top to bottom. Upholstery material is disposed over the back springs 38 andas here shown this material comprises a sheet of burlap 39 adjacent the springs 38 and cotton padding 40 over the front surface of the burlap. A back upholstery cover 41 is disposed over the front surface of the padding 40 and has its marginal edges drawn rearwardly around the back frame and attached to the spurs 36, said spurs 36 piercing the cover and, if desired, the marginal edges of the burlap 39 also, as shown. The back frame is desirably strengthened by means of tubular struts 42 which are flattened and turned at their upper and lower ends and welded to the top rail 33 and bottom rail 34 of the back frame.

The rear of the pew back is finished with a rigid panel 43 the rear surface of which is upholstered with vinyl or other suitable material. Upper clips 44 secured as by rivets 45 to the front surface of the panel 43 are engaged behind the spurs 36 on the back frames top rail 33, and lower clips 46 secured to the front surface of the panel 43 as by rivets 47 are secured to the back frames bottom rail 34 as by means of self-tapping screws 48. The panel is thus securely, but removably,

assembled to the back cushion 12 and this is desirably accomplished prior to assembly of the back cushion 12 to the back supports 21. The latter assembly operation is accomplished by sliding the cushion downwardly over the back supports 21, the back frames bottom rail 34 being apertured at 49 to receive the back supports, and the back frames top rail 33 being provided with locating plugs 50 welded thereon to receive the upper ends of the back supports 21. Finally screws 51 are inserted upwardly through slots in brackets 52 welded on the back supports 21 and turned into nuts 53 welded on the back frames bottom rail 34. It will be seen that the construction of the pew back is such as to provide the back with a hollow interior into which extend the back supports 21 for the concealment thereof.

The pew ends 54 each comprises a rectangular frame made up of a front frame 55 and a rear frame 56 (see Figures 4, 6 and 7) said frames having complementary top and bottom rabbets which form an upper groove 57 and a lower groove 58 when the frames are glued together as shown. The upper groove 57 is of greater depth than the lower groove 58. An upholstered panel 59 is assembled to the frame in the manner indicated in Figures 6 and 7. The panels upper edge is first pushed upwardly into the upper groove 57, the lower edge is then swung inwardly and the panel is finally slid downwardly to its assembled position seen in Figure 7. Each pew end has a pin 60 which fits into a keyhole opening, 61 (see Figure 3) in the adjacent side rail 35 of the back frame of the pew, and thereafter wood screws 62 are passed through openings in the adjacent end rail 24 of the pews seat frame and into the pew end, thus securely fastening the pew end to the seat and back. It will be seen that the upholstered panel 59 can readily be removed from the pew end for replacement of the upholstery cover should the latter become worn, without removing the pew ends frame from the pew.

The pew ends may or may not extend to the floor depending on the desires of the purchaser. As here shown the pew ends 54 extend below the seat a lesser distance than the legs of the pew, and this construction facilitates housekeeping as well as lending a unique and pleasing appearance to the pew.

Spur guards (not shown) may if desired be provided on the underside of the seat to preclude any possibility of persons coming into contact with the spurs. These would be in the form of C-shaped moldings fitted over the rows of spurs. However, the spurs 25 on the rear rail 23 of the seat frame are here shown shielded by the upstanding front flange 63 of a channel member 64 which runs the full length of the pew and is secured to the seat supports 14 by the screws 31. This channel members rear flange 65 abuts, the lower edge of the back panel 43 thus closing the gap between the back panel 43 and the seat cushion 11.

It will thus be seen that the invention provides a 4 sturdy, comfortable and attractive upholstered pew, and while but one specific embodiment of the invention has been herein shown and described it will be understood that numerous details thereof may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a pew: spaced upright supporting standards each comprising a rearwardly-downwardly extending bar constituting a seat support, a tubular front leg for the pew dependingly secured to the forward end of said bar, and l a tubular rear support secured to the rearward end of said bar and having a depending lower portion constituting a rear leg. for the pew and an upwardly-rearwardly extending upper portion constituting a back sup port; a pew seat mounted on the seat supports; and a pew back mounted on the back supports, said pew back having a hollow interior and having apertures in its bottom and locating plugs depending from its upper internal edge in vertical alignment with said apertures, whereby said pew back may be prefabricated and subsequently assembled to the back supports by sliding it downwardly onto said back supports with the back supports projecting upwardly through said apertures and with the open upper ends of said tubular back supports engaging around said locating plugs.

2. In a pew: spaced upright supporting standards each comprising a rearwardly-downwardly extending bar constituting a seat support, a front leg for the pew dependingly secured to the forward end of said bar and a rear support secured to the rearward end of said bar and having a depending lower portion constituting a rear leg for the pew and an upwardly-rearwardly extending upper portion constituting a back support; a pew back mounted on the back supports; and an elongated upholstered seat mounted on the seat supports, the front surface of the seat being substantially vertical and the rear surface of the seat being substantially parallel to said back supports, and the seat being substantially symmetrical with respect to a central longitudinal plane therethrough so that the disposition of said seat on the seat supports is reversible end for end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 185,253 Moore Dec. 12, 1876 326,571 Lancaster Sept. 22, 1885 726,042 Franz Apr. 21, 1903 1,450,283 Galizia Apr. 3, 1923 1,512,326 Wynn Oct. 21, 1924 1,608,033 Nabors Nov. 23, 1926 2,266,896 Nordmark Dec. 23, 1941 2,619,659 Futterknecht Dec. 2, 1952 2,627,900 Sutherland Feb. 10, 1953 2,630,858 Bellin Mar. 10, 1953 2,635,681 Hiltman et al. Apr. 21, 1953 

